Pipe godown destroyed in fire; goods worth over Rs 1 cr gutted

Bhubaneswar: Property worth more than Rs 1 crore were gutted following a massive fire in a sanitary and pipe godown in a multi-storied building at Station Bazaar Chhak in the Capital city last night.

Three persons trapped inside the building were rescued safely by the fire officials, reports said.

At around 11.30 pm on Tuesday, locals noticed smoke billowing out from the Garg Trading godown and informed the Fire department.

Sources said as a huge stock of plastic items including pipes and other bathroom fittings were stored in the godown, the entire room was engulfed by fire within no time.

Eight units of Fire brigade rushed to the spot after getting information and managed to douse the flames following an operation of four-and-a-half hours, reports added.

“Three persons trapped in the first floor of the building were evacuated safely. As there was no proper ventilation arrangement, we had to break the doors and windows to let the smoke pass away,” informed a Fire officer, adding the exact reason behind the flames will be established after detailed investigation.

Sources said, the owner of the godown had lighted an earthen lamp as a ritual of pre-Diwali and left for home after locking the store. It is being suspected that the earthen lamp might have caused the fire mishap. However, the owner of Garg Trading is yet to comment about the incident.

The amount of stocks gutted in the fire is more than Rs 1 crore, sources added.